What Good is a College Education Anyway?
The Value of a College Education

Questioning whether you should go to college? Here are five ways that a college education will make you a better person:

It will likely make you more prosperous.

It will give you a better quality of life.

It will give you the power to change the world.

It will be something you can pass on to your children.

It makes you a major contributor to the greatest nation on earth.

First things first, because I know you're thinking "Show me the money." The lifetime income of families
headed by individuals with a bachelor's degree will be about $1.6 million more than the incomes of families
headed by those with a high-school diploma, according to the Postsecondary Education Opportunity
Research Letter. The U.S. Census Bureau tells us that in 1999, average income for a male age 25
or over who holds a bachelor's degree was about $61,000, compared to about $32,000 for a male
with a high-school diploma -- so the college graduate's income was about $29,000 more
annually than the high-school grad's. And incomes of those with only a high-school education are
sinking steadily lower.

Now, unfortunately, women still make less money than men do, but the news for females who
choose higher education is truly phenomenal: In a 1997 study, young women who had completed
a bachelor's degree or higher earned 91 percent more than young women with no
more than a high-school diploma or GED.

A college education is an extraordinarily profitable investment. Every dollar spent on a young
man's college education produces $34.85 in increased lifetime income. Any Wall Street stockbroker
would envy that kind of investment yield -- especially these days. You say you can't afford to go to
college? The Postsecondary Education Opportunity Research Letter says you can't afford not to.

College may be expensive, but the only thing more expensive than getting a college
education is not getting one. The income differential empowers you to make
choices that enrich your life.

Unlike most purchases, a college education appreciates in value instead of depreciating.
And don't forget that there are ways to get around the high cost - scholarships, financial aid,
community colleges, and emerging choices in distance learning that can enable you to take
classes on your computer while also participating in the workforce.
See Quintessential Careers resources on financial aid.

John G. Ramsay, a professor at the Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching, said that the
credentials you gain with a college education "are about setting yourself apart, being employable,
becoming a legitimate candidate for a job with a future. They are about climbing out of the
dead-end job market, and achieving one of life's most difficult developmental tasks:
independence from one's parents. Strong credentials trigger that magical set of middle
class 'firsts,' " Ramsay said: "The first real-world job, the first non-student apartment, the
first new car, and of course, the first loan payments. Weak credentials can be painful
reminders of a string of misfortunes: poor advice, money problems, bad decisions,
and wasted time."

Next, quality of life. Is there anyone who wouldn't like to live a longer, healthier life?
Studies show that, compared to high-school graduates, college graduates have:

longer life spans

better access to health care

better dietary and health practices

greater economic stability and security

more prestigious employment and greater job satisfaction

less dependency on government assistance

greater use of seat belts

more continuing education

greater Internet access

greater attendance at live performances

greater participation in leisure and artistic activities

more book purchases

higher voting rates

greater knowledge of government

greater community service and leadership

more volunteer work

more self-confidence

and less criminal activity and incarceration.

Thirdly, more money and greater quality of life aren't the only reasons for a college education.
Children's Defense Fund director Marian Wright Edelman cautioned that "Once you have that
college diploma in hand never work just for money or power. They won't save your soul or
build a decent family or help you sleep at night."

Edelman explains why this advice is so important: "We are the richest nation on earth, yet
our incarceration, drug addiction, and child poverty rates are among the highest in the
industrialized world. Don't condone or tolerate moral corruption, whether it's found in
high or low places, whatever its color... Don't confuse legality with morality. Dr.
[Martin Luther] King noted that everything Hitler did was legal. Don't give anyone the
proxy for your conscience."

Cuban patriot Jose Marti once wrote: "Students are the ramparts and the strongest
army of freedom. When liberty is in danger, a newspaper threatened, a ballot box in
peril, the students unite... And arm in arm they go through the streets demanding justice,
or they run printing presses in cellars for what they cannot say."

If you doubt that knowledge is power, consider the societies that have denied education to
selected segments of the population. The Taliban in Afghanistan keeps women from having
any power by outlawing their education, much as antebellum American society kept slaves from
possessing power by denying them schooling.

Institutions of higher learning continue to be among the best venues for cultivating social change.

The fourth point is that a college education is a legacy for your children. The idea of having
children may be as remote to you as the international space station, but trust us, your
college education will benefit your children - and not just so you can impress them with
how well you play "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

Research shows that children of college-educated parents are healthier, perform
better academically, and are more likely to attend college themselves than children
of those with lower educational attainment.

Your education builds a foundation for your children -- for our nation's children, and for
the children of our global community -- which leads to the last point.

Education is the cornerstone of public progress.

Education is the essence of the democratic ideals that elevated the United States from a
backward land of rebellious colonists to the greatest, most spirited, powerful and successful
nation in the world.

And we are the greatest nation. America leads the world in educational attainment, and with
only one exception, we lead in per-capita income. Speaking at a symposium on American
values, Anne L. Heald said there is "an extraordinary consensus that the preparation of
young people for work is one of the singular most important things a society can do to
improve its ability to prosper in a new international economy."

Similarly, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan said recently, "We must
ensure that our whole population receives an education that will allow full and continuing
participation in this dynamic period of American economic history."

What Greenspan is saying is that, without college, you may be left out.
And the relationship between a college education and success will become more
and more significant in our information-driven global economy. Higher education will
be increasingly important for landing high-paying jobs.

Technology and the information age are not the only reasons to be well
educated; the trend is toward multiple jobs and even multiple careers,
and higher education prepares you to make the transitions to new fields.

So what more could you ask of your investment in higher education than
prosperity, quality of life, the knowledge that bolsters social change, a legacy for
your children, and the means to ensure the continuing success of the American
dream?

Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key college, career, and job-search
terms by going to our Job-Seeker's Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.

Katharine Hansen, Ph.D., creative director and associate
publisher of Quintessential Careers, is an educator, author,
and blogger who provides content for Quintessential Careers,
edits QuintZine,
an electronic newsletter for jobseekers, and blogs about storytelling
in the job search at A Storied
Career. Katharine, who earned her PhD in organizational behavior
from Union Institute & University, Cincinnati, OH, is author of Dynamic
Cover Letters for New Graduates and A Foot in the Door: Networking
Your Way into the Hidden Job Market (both published by Ten Speed Press),
as well as Top Notch Executive Resumes (Career Press); and with
Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D., Dynamic Cover Letters, Write Your
Way to a Higher GPA (Ten Speed), and The Complete Idiot's Guide
to Study Skills (Alpha). Visit her
personal Website
or reach her by e-mail at
kathy(at)quintcareers.com.
Check out Dr. Hansen on GooglePlus.

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